Opinion | Iran, Israel, And The Ghosts Of A Relationship Gone Bad

As Tehran and Tel Aviv continue to bomb each other, it is impossible to wrap one's brain around the time, not so distant in the past, when Iran and Israel were each other's trusted allies in the West Asia region. In a twisted way, however, Iran still seems to be helping Israel. In furthering Israel's narrative of being the victim. Iran, in turn, stands as isolated today as its arch enemy Iraq once was.

How was the road to Iran's isolation, not just regional, paved? As opposed to the popular view of the American grandstanding on peace, which has been altering the geopolitical landscape of West Asia, Iran's downfall has been largely of its own making, ably aided by Israel. While Iran didn't recognise the nationhood of Israel, it saw the nascent Jewish state as an ally in the project of regional dominance. Israel needed non-Arab allies, too. It was a good deal for both. After a decade of covert collaboration, Israel became more upfront about its friendship with Iran post the Suez War of 1956. Both Israel and Iran viewed Gamal Abdel Nasser's Pan-Arabism and Soviet communism with great apprehension. 

The Collaboration For Iraq

Through the 1960s, Tel Aviv and Tehran were instrumental in strengthening the Kurds fighting the regime in Iraq, a Shia-majority country ruled by the Sunni establishment. It's difficult to believe today, but the Israeli Mossad worked closely with its Iranian counterpart SAVAK, to support the Kurdish resistance. Even the 1967 Arab-Israeli war was not a deal-breaker for this relationship based on common geopolitical interests. If anything, it bolstered Iran's trust in Israel's strength after the latter defeated Jordan, Egypt and Syria. The Shah regime held close ties with Israel and continued military, economic, and intelligence cooperation, and both worked against the Ba'athist Iraq.

In 1973, when the Arab world stood united against the United States and Europe for their support of Israel and stopped selling them oil, Iran firmly stood in the corner of Israel. It was an expedient move on the Shah's part as Iran became the leading beneficiary with bourgeoning oil revenues. Iran's oil was fuelling the West.

When Israel Had Iran's Back

Israel seems to have forgotten today that the missiles landing on its cities are probably thanks to Project Flower, a 1977 joint Iranian-Israeli development programme of advanced missile systems. Even after the regime change in Iran after the 1979 revolution, the reliance on Israel continued unabated, despite the public stance of the Ayatollah against the Jewish state. When Iraq, boosted militarily by both the Americans and the Soviets, invaded Iran in 1980, the Islamic Republic needed Israel more than ever before. And Israel delivered! 

In violation of the sanction policy of its mentor, the US, the Israeli government supplied weapons and other military hardware to Iran in the early 1980s. Saddam Hussein's war against Iran cemented the military and intelligence collaboration between Tehran and Tel Aviv. But something was about to change. 

The US sanctions against Iran in the aftermath of the 1979 hostage crisis, when 66 American citizens were held captive by an Iranian student group in Tehran to demand the extradition of the Shah, announced that the days of Iran-US bonhomie were over. The religious extremism of the Islamic Republic began to overshadow its pragmatism, and what could have been an inter-regime squabble soon turned into a full-blown geopolitical crisis in the next decade. 

The Coming Of Netanyahu

The Islamic Republic not only started amplifying its anti-Jewish state rhetoric, but it also started painting Iran as a victim of the West-style modernity. Tehran-Tel Aviv cooperation continued covertly, as if on life support, till the mid-1990s. With Benjamin Netanyahu's first Prime Ministerial stint starting 1996, the anti-Iran paranoia began to take root in Israel.

Thanks to Iran's support for Hezbollah and Hamas in a bid to emerge as a regional heavyweight, the Israelis pinned every regional conflict they faced on the Islamic Republic. This development had ramifications beyond West Asia. Post 9/11 attacks, Iran tried a rapprochement with a hostile US, citing an alignment of interests in terms of destroying the Taliban in Afghanistan. Washington rejected this “Grand Bargain” proposal, and George W Bush famously declared, "States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world,” referring to North Korea, Iran, and Saddam's Iraq.

A Lonely Existence

Netanyahu has been consistently working towards painting Iran as the biggest threat not only to regional stability in West Asia but also to the interests of the US. The “axis of evil” clubbing has been detrimental to Iran's economic and geopolitical standing, exacerbated by the Islamic Regime's constant attack on the West-corrupted Iranians who do not adhere to religious diktats. Iranian dissenters have been the biggest allies of the Israeli overtures against the Islamic Regime.

With the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and the continuing Russia-Ukraine war, one of the rare allies of Iran, Putin, too, is in no position to help. Beyond the usual rhetoric of opposition to Western hegemony, Moscow cannot provide any substantive assistance to Tehran. Not to forget Netanyahu's persistent lobbying efforts, which have led to Putin not giving Syria the S-300 anti-aircraft system. Tehran cannot rely on Moscow's support. It appears the same with China. Beijing is more heavily invested, despite the rivalry, in the US economically than in Russia or West Asia, and money trumps friendships almost every time in international affairs.

Iran's isolation, therefore, can be summarised in this couplet by Salik Lakhnavi, a Progressive Urdu poet: 

Khuda aazmaae sanam aazmaae 

Sanam jaante haiñ khuda jaanta hai 

(God tested me, my beloved tested me
God knows, my beloved knows)

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(The author is a Delhi-based academic)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author